Actual cost to put up hay

What is the approximate total cost to cut,
rake, and bale hay in round bales as a
cost per bale? Neighbor wants me to put up
his hay on shares and I'm trying to figure
out the cost to do it. I know how much he
gets from his land, so if I had an idea
what actual cost was to do the work I
would know how much per bale I would have
in it for my share. That way I could
decide if it's worth it to do it.

Waaaaayyyyyy too many unknown variables. What will that nasty unpopular fossil fuel known as diesel be running next summer LOL? Net or twine, 4x4s or 5x6's, somewhat new equipment or fully depreciated old stuff, little haybine or big disc mower that you zip in and zip out in minimal time and on and on. Univ of Minn im sure has some info , that will be your best bet. You will get 10 replies to your question here and get 10 different answers.

go to the university of minnesota custom farm rates they will have prices for different farming operations

I don't have any idea, but I do know I gasped when I found out what small squares were going for!

I used to keep sheep and the last time I bought hay, 5-6 years ago, I paid $3/bale in the field. Quality varied from suitable for picky horses to mulch, all on the same wagon.

Gave up sheep and had 15 or so bales left that I used for bedding and nest lining for my laying hens. Finally got down to the last few flakes and figured I should grab a dozen bales or so to get me through the Winter.

First, NONE to be found for sale at any of the places I usually got it from. Either all spoken for or they'd quit making hay. Asked around, prices varied from $9 to $15 for 50-ish pound small squares.

Finally found some mulch-quality hay at a feed store for $6/bale. Nasty, stemmy stuff that I'm not sure my sheep would've eaten and they ate just about anything.

Good enough for nest lining tho.

Its a tough calculation. For me on shares where land owner fertilizes properly, limes, etc I'd need about 1/2 the hay. More commonly where they don't do anything and the land has been stripped out the last few years, I have to take all the hay and still lose money for a few years.

Ditto what SHALER stated that there are too many variables.

A person with older/dependable tractors/equipment can put up rd bales cheaper per bale than a person with NEW state of the art tractors/equipment. I've been custom baling hay since 1987. All my equipment is paid for & I supervise any repairs needed. To cut/rake rd bale 4X5.5 rd bales I charge on the ""higher side of the going local rate"". I charge $25 per rd bale. I just bale my close neighbors due to labor problems & state/county road travel hazards(speeders). Without performing the calculations I suppose I make some $$$$ because I have more $$$$ in my checking acct than I started with at beginning of 2021 but I also sell a few rd bales & calves

With the rise in prices of all inputs then I think price of baling should go up next season.

It will come down to how much you like to bale and how much you want to help out your neighbor. I gave up making hay and buy it by the semi load.

Around my area $25.00 to $28.00 for round bales 4' x 5' if you don't count the cost of growing.

<Neighbor wants me to put up his hay >

How much is a good neighbor worth to you?

If a neighbor needs help, I'll help and not expect to get paid.
I've done a lot of backhoe work for my neighbors and friends.
When they ask how much? I tell them to pay me what you think it's worth.
Best way I know to keep good neighbors and friends.

If the U of Minnesota extension service does not have those estimates most any other land grand ag universities extension service will: Iowa State U; Purdue; Michigan State U; U of Wisconsin; U of Illinois; etc.

I used to try and figure that out as well. gave up and took the cost of custom cutting in the area by the hour, baling at $10 a bale. raking by the hour. then give him the bill and what ever the going price of hay is at that time take that amount of hay. some fields that only give 1 bale an acre the hay is all yours and he still owes you money. other fields he makes out well. to me that is the only way to do it. I did one field for a neighbor that was 20 acres and got 5 bales. cost me more in fuel than the total of those bales could be sold for. I have lots of debt and like to help where needed but this neighbor new how to do everything that cost money get someone else to do it and make it sound good and he gets it for nothing. he was close to a millionaire and now his land sits uncut and he keeps trying to get some other sucker to farm it. I warned my friend but he did it as well. The saying goes sucker born every minute fits. I think in 15 years 5 people have been taken in by this guy like that.

All my tractors and equipment have been paid for long ago so basically my costs are twine,oil,fuel,grease and I use fuel efficient smaller tractors.I bale 300-400 big round or so bales a year and doubt I spend $3000 on just making hay.Plus I get all the hay land I want to cut for free.

My area, custom haying is generally done in halves. Landowner gets half, custom hayer gets half. If fertilized, the fertilizer expense is split down the middle, OR, the 50/50 split gets adjusted so whoever paid for fertilizer gets more of the hay. Like, as in, the 50/50 split gets changed to 60/40 or 70/30 depending on what kind of hay/how much fertilizer was put on and what have. Custom hayer usually is responsible for moving/rowing bales to/at edge of field, or being there at the right time to load landowners half on trailers provided either by the landowner or the person buying land owners share. Its not un-common to see custom hayer buy the landowners share after the hay is put up. This way, is about the fairest way to do it for both parties.
There is other ways to go about it. Charge by the acre, or by the bale, or a set fee for the entire field still standing. But this type of system usually just entails someone getting screwed. The custom hayer on a bad year. The land owner on a good year. If done on shares, both parties are also splitting the bad down the middle, and not just the good.
As others have mentioned, there's no way one person with new state of the art financed equipment and hired employees can hire out by the hour or per bale and be at the same price as another person with older payed for equipment and doing it them self without hired hands. The first guy mentioned has to much overhead and has to be expensive. The second guy mentioned can do it relatively cheap and can undercut the first guy on the deal by far. So, in a nut shell, that college study info put out is highly influenced by what they factored into the equation. Usually they factor in what the first guy mentioned is looking at and will have thier study rates set relatively high to account for it.
I have had to pass the last two or three times I tried to hire someone who based thier price on a university study. They were to expensive for my pocket book.

Apples and oranges maybe but I put up about 1000 small squares a year off land I barter for, my costs are right around $1 per bale over 2 cuttings. That is barring any major repairs which I have been fortunate enough to avoid .

I agree check with extention service they should have it. I figure it costs me 45$ a ton on average that is with payed off older equipment.

I wouldnt take on a job by the bale unless there was at least two bales per acre, first point. Second point is this ground in decent shape? Free of rocks , ruts and other objects that will damage your equipment. Typically I could hire a custom baler at $10.00/per bale. Hay cutting runs $15-20 per acre. Small awkward shaped fields take longer to cut than nice square fields, so charge accordingly.
The only fair way to work on trades,hay for work, is to know what a bale weighs. .08cents/lb 500lb bale/$40.00. So@ &10.00 to bale and $15.00 per acre to cut a crop yielding 2 bales per acre, your cost is $17.50 per bale if you split the hay, your hay only cost 3.5/lb . So it is important to determine the quality of hay, and price per lb before entering into a 50/50 split deal, with some consideration given to the crop yield.

In my part of Alabama we do it on 2/3 to guy doing the work and has the equipment 1/3 to landowner, you will have some the do it on 50/50 split but they do not do it long and landowner will be back wanting to do the 2/3 and 1/3 split. I buy all the hay from landowner and resale most of second cutting, me being the one landowner gets his money from. I turn people down every year wanting me to do the hay, I just don't have the time.

I use wood planer shavings in nest boxes, they are a by-product for me and I always have a barrel or three on hand. They seem to me to work better than hay, but I don't know for sure.

I would do the same, but Mawteen is afraid the birds will eat the shavings and get sick.

Not a battle I feel is worth fighting, if you know what I mean.

Custom baling I was getting $22 a bale to mow rake and bale 4x5.5 1200 lbs bales. That number of course excludes fertilizer costs which could be substantial this year, not sure of the type of grass or fertility needs.

20$ Per bale to bale 7$ an acre to rake 20$ An acre to mow .

Im about an hour north of you, and Ive put up hay on shares for the last 25 years. Its always been 2/3 for me, 1/3 for the land owner. Now it has been transitioning to me just renting the fields because the landowners no longer have need of any hay. Ive been paying $8 per 1,000lb round bale. Folks must be satisfied, because I have got plenty of ground to cover.

For cut, ted, rake and bale in my area if the land owner buys the fertilizer I get 60% of the hay and they get 40%
If I buy the fertilizer I get 75% and they get 25%
In this area average hay ground will produce 4.5-5 4x5 bales per acre for spring cutting and 2.5-3 bales per acre for 2nd cutting
For my tractors total fuel usage to cut, ted, rake and bale is 1.75-2 gallons per acre, sisal twine at 15 wraps per bale cost $.81 per bale, total time start to finish averages 1.75-2 hours per acre.
I do not have a mower/conditioner, if I did my fuel usage would be higher, small, rough or crooked fields will also increase fuel usage and time per acre